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Coulomb's inverse-square law, or simply Coulomb's law, is an experimental law [1] of physics that calculates the amount of force between two electrically charged particles at rest. This electric force is conventionally called the electrostatic force or Coulomb force . [ 2 ]
where r is the distance between the point charges q and Q, and q and Q are the charges (not the absolute values of the charges—i.e., an electron would have a negative value of charge when placed in the formula). The following outline of proof states the derivation from the definition of electric potential energy and Coulomb's law to this formula.
By 1785 Charles-Augustin de Coulomb showed that two electric charges at rest experience a force inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, a result now called Coulomb's law. The striking similarity to gravity strengthened the case for action at a distance, at least as a mathematical model. [12]
The charge of the resulting ions is a major factor in the strength of ionic bonding, e.g. a salt C + A − is held together by electrostatic forces roughly four times weaker than C 2+ A 2− according to Coulomb's law, where C and A represent a generic cation and anion respectively. The sizes of the ions and the particular packing of the ...
No object can have a charge smaller than the elementary charge, and any amount of charge an object may carry is a multiple of the elementary charge. An electron has an equal negative charge, i.e. −1.602 176 634 × 10 −19 coulombs .
Ions of opposite charge are naturally attracted to each other by the electrostatic force. [10] [11] This is described by Coulomb's law: = where F is the force of attraction, q 1 and q 2 are the magnitudes of the electrical charges, ε is the dielectric constant of the medium and r is the distance between the ions.
Coulomb's law states that: [5] The magnitude of the electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The force is along the straight line joining them.
When a voltmeter is connected between two different types of metal, it measures the potential difference corrected for the different atomic environments. [6] The quantity measured by a voltmeter is called electrochemical potential or fermi level, while the pure unadjusted electric potential, V, is sometimes called the Galvani potential, ϕ.